Aimutation is way better than DeadAIM (just as the name says- its dead)
Aimutation is constantly being worked on, I have been with AIMutation from the beggining. 1.0 was just launched and AIMutation is now full software and not beta. It has every single feature of DeadAIM, but improved upon and more.

From Aimuation.com:
Skinning – the primary goal of AIMutation since inception was to radically alter the appearance of the dated AIM GUI, we think we’ve succeed here. You can optionally turn on skinning that will change the buddy list, IM and Chat windows. Skins can be freely created by users and shared amongst each other.

Buddy Aliasing – allows you to rename the screen names on your buddy list to anything you like, for example, you can have fred352 show as Freddie so it’s easier to recognise who’s who. You can also choose to have your list of aliases shared by all users or your screen name only, this comes in handy when you share AIM with family members, it’ll allow you all to keep your own list of aliases if desired. With version 1.0 aliasing is taken further, now with names in IM’s and Chats being fully aliased.

Tabbed IM and Chat windows – groups those windows so that only one window ever shows in the Windows Taskbar, clearing up clutter and making it easier to converse with buddies. There is also an optional tab switching option that makes it easier to see how many windows are open and which have new messages. Here’s a screen shot of tabbed ewindows in action. With version 1.0 tabs display different notification icons of when your buddies are typing messages and when new messages have been received.

Message Logging – can automatically save all conversations you have either with a single buddy through an IM or with a group of people in a Chat. All files, images and sounds transferred between you and a buddy during a direct connection are also saved. With version 1.0 you can now specify a location for saving logs to.

Log Manager – allows you to manage saved conversations. The AIMutation log manager is built on top of the internal AIM log viewer. What this means to you is that the features you’re accustomed to in IM windows are available in the log manager, for example, the F2 key toggles time stamps, all smileys native and custom to AIM are displayed, all files, images and sounds can be previewed and saved to disk. These features are exclusive to AIMutation.

Cloning – allows you to have multiple instances of AIM running simultaneously. Login with a multiple screen names all at once. With version 1.0 the tray icon tooltip now displays the screen name to make it easier to distinguish between different instances runnig.

Plug-ins – add new and exciting features to AIM. Plug-ins already created include SmileyPlus; it allows you to freely use any of the 2500+ new emoticons available in AIM v5.x, BuddyCam; it allows you to insert pictures taken with a webcam directly in IM’s to share with friends, BuddyAlias; it allows easy management of your list of aliases with features to add/remove/edit/backup and restore to your list. There are numerous other plug-ins available and many more under development.

Transparency – on Windows 2000 and XP allow you to configure the level of opacity for your buddy list, IM and Chat windows. Settings can apply individually to a window or globally inherited by all of them. There is also an option to make a transparent window opaque when it receives focus.

Login Logo Customisation – allows you to freely change the logo shown during login. It’s as easy as creating your own image or selecting the option to use login logo’s from skins.

Popup Notifications – can alert you when buddies sign on, sign off, set away or return from an away state. You can apply up to 18 different visual effects to notifications to make sure you never miss one and they can optionally be disabled when you’re away. (Visual effects available are dependant on your operating system). With version 1.0 you can set the duration of the notification display and also rotate through display effects. A “kill zone” has also been added; the top 25 pixels of notification are now used to close a notification when the zone is clicked (the mouse cursor will change to an X).

Talk While Away – option allows you to set away and retain that state while still chatting. You may have tried this feature in other software and been disappointed at how it required you to disable your away message, this is not the case with AIMutation, it works properly so you don’t have to lose functionality to use it.

Customisable buddy list – features allow you to hide selected parts such as the ad window and buttons so you can remove the clutter. You can also resize the window much smaller than AIM normally allows. This feature is exclusive to AIMutation. With version 1.0 you can now fully customise the colours of the buddy list.

Comprehensive User guide – that walks you through all of the features in AIMutation, it’s very simple to use and will be a welcome enhancement for many users.

The features go on, just looking at the settings window with all the features of AIMutation is amazing, I can’t see why anyone would go with anything else. For only 3.95 you get 4 download credits meaning 4 versions of AIMutation or any other software found at http://www.545studios.com. Also note plugins:

Smiliey Plus- Use all the new smilieys in AIM with a simple right click.
*BuddyAMP- Display winamp status in your profile
BuddyAlias- Ultimate way to back up/load alias’s
*BuddyNews- Rss new feeder.
BuddyCam- Webcam for AIM.

*Costs a credit at the 545Studios site. All others are free.